Wicked Milestones
by ruii-chan
Summary: Everything that has started should be finished...what is left unsaid will now be revealed...And is going to lead everything in ruins.
1. Ethereal Woods of Error

**_Wicked Milestones_**

**_Chapter-1: Ethereal Woods of Error_**

**__****_"and i might be crazy,if i think that it's true."_**

As the chase continues their adventure in a particular continent, the sun is already preparing to set when they take a halt on an enchanted forest in the vicinity of a town where there are many stories about destructive assault the likes of which no one can even image save for a few who have seen it.

''It's already getting dark.'' Ley pointed out while floating in the air, her butler Jeeves not leaving her side even though he is carrying her luggages.

"It looks like we need a stopover in this forest" Elesis said as she walked down the road they were walking as she turned around to meet their collected nods.

Everyone agreed but then Arme and Amy were having a bad feeling in the woods, like there's something hard to explain in there.

"Awww… really? I don't feel good in this place,And even Amy doesn't have the guts to sleep in this place."Arme pointed out while observing the woods. She is the only Mage in the group and a powerful one at that. Her knowledge in both white magic and black magic has saved the Chase more than once in many occasions where death seemed imminent.

"Yeah! She's right, this place looks creepy." Amy complained while pouting which made Jin flustered due to her cuteness which everyone ignored.

"Ohhh c'mon. This place ain't that bad." Ryan reassured the two as he has a lot of experience living in nature that he practically knows its secrets at the back of his head. As long as they don't disturb nature's lovely night then they'll be fine or at least that's what he hopes will happen. They weren't exactly safe ever since Dio and Ley take their frustration out on the forest's inhabitants.

"And by the way, we can't set off tonight because it is too risky for us. We don't know what's ahead; it's dangerous to fight in this darkness." Sieghart added as years of experience told him that going out recklessly at night is a danger waiting to happen. Yes, he had the luxury of experiencing that fate and it led him into the edge of a mountain and fell. Because of his immortality, however, he survived but his broken bones were still complaining from the pain they went through.

"Well, that's what I wanted to say."Elesis said but everyone else thinks that she just wanted to rest from all of her reckless advances on monsters she did the last few days they fought them.

"Okay…" Amy and Arme said with a sigh of defeat but they still feel that this isn't a good idea.

"Don't worry, nothing wrong will happen. We're all together, after all." Lire reassured the two as everyone else nodded.

They continued walking until everyone found the perfect place for them to camp out and arrange their setting everything in place, Elesis remembered something that she heard when they passed a down a few days back.

"Ohhh, wait! I remembered a rumor about a great monster in this forest!"Elesis said happily as the memory of the rumor she heard was still fresh in their minds.

''Ohh yeah? Everyone! Granny is going to tell us a legend!" Arme shouted causing for everyone to laugh.

"are you mocking me?" Elesis exclaimed while giving Arme a smile and a look.

"No, I'm not.'' Arme said smiling naïvely.

"I was just telling everyone that you are going to tell everyone a story, Granny~" Arme added with a tune.

"So you're saying that I'm a granny~"Elesis replied in chorus.

"Ohh…cut it out you two..."Lire mediated before they started fighting again.

"She started it."Elesis stated calmly.

"Bleaaahh"Arme teased with her tongue out.

''Be thankful, little brat. I'm not going to wrangle with you this time." Elesis replied with a sudden deep breath as she was visibly tired.

"Seems like someone is taking after their old man." Seighart teased causing for Elesis to blush red as she turned to Seighart.

"Shut up old man!" Everyone laughed as they watch Seighart and Elesis have their family feuds.

After a moment of finishing up arranging their things and their talking….The meals were ready and they are prepared by Rin, Lire, Ronan, and Lass.

"Everyone! Dinner is ready!"Rin declared making everyone run to the camp fire.

Ryan, Ronan and Jin started a race and rushed into the meals.

"Hey!"Ronan shouted as he was pushed away even though he was holding a few plates to give everyone. Luckily, none of the plates he was holding fell to the ground.

"I win! You two will be the ones to clean up!"Jin declared whilst laughing as the two shrugged.

Everyone laughed in seeing the result of the race making Ryan and Ronan eating everyone talked about their plans reactions about the attacks in town where they are going to and etc. After Ryan and Ronan finished cleaning up, everyone arranged their place to sleep as others did other things like Zero who was polishing Grandark from dirt and collected blood in its frame.

"I'm tired, I can't sleep…"Arme whined while yawning.

"Well, that was fate's payback for you because of making me mad lately. "Elesis said teasing with a grin on her face.

"Huh?"Arme replied pouting.

"But I thought that it was not too bad enough. Because you also tease her more than that." Lire pointed while tending to her bows and arrows.

"Thank you, Lire" Arme thanked her making Elesis pout for this time.

"Huh?...wait…I think there's someone missing."Rin noticed as she caught everyone's attention and tries to remember who isn't there.

"As usual." Dio whispered while Ley nodded. The other demon was never around to talk to them and/or anyone for that matter.

"There's nothing to be surprised about, He always disappears and comes back out of nowhere." Asin pointed out as he and Jin gathered firewood earlier and added more to the camp fire.

And after realizing who's missing and what asin said,they all speak up about what they think about the bounty hunter.

"Even at the first time we met him, he's secretive and is the person who keep himself isolated from others."Mari added as she continued reading her book. Everyone in the camp noted that she actually observed someone else other than the immortal.

"well, that makes him invincible."Sieghart commented as it proves that his behavior makes him a very skillful demon hunter.

"And that also makes the people that around him to be curious about what's behind his strange attitude."Arme said as this was also the case for some of them. Dio had to be very cautious around the demon hunter, less he wants to be killed by him. Ley hated the demon hunter for specific reasons but she too is wary around the demon hunter, especially if they were alone.

"What I know, or at least what I see from his wind, is that it's all about his father isn't it?"Rin asked as the others couldn't actually be sure about this one.

"No one knows... but there's something more in him. It's just that he doesn't want everyone to know about him. Makes me wonder if he truly just joined in for the fun of it."Lire explained as the others think of how Luxus is usually around them.

"My brother just doesn't want us to be involved in some serious matters for we know there are many who are against him. After all, he was raise alone like me and had to depend on himself just to survive."Lass added as he was told this by his own brother not too long ago.

"We just need to understand. Everyone of us are different in many ways and we still have our own agendas but he is still our friend." Zero said in a whisper joining in the conversation after he finishes cleaning Grandark and putting said sword on his back.

"Congrats!Zero!at last, you've decided speak up."Amy said smiling as everyone remained silent. Zero didn't particularly like the comment but he had other things in mind like fighting Duel/Void.

"Zero has a point." Jin pointed out breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah." Elesis agreed as she turned to Zero who merely nodded after Elesis stared at him. It didn't take long for another deafening silence to take over as everyone still felt awkward talking about Luxus.

"Okay, I'm going to sleep. It's already late." Ley uttered ending the conversation and wiping her eyes as she went to her tent to rest.

"Goodnight "Arme said to everyone before going to her tent as well for it is already late. Everyone else said their goodnight and slept as this leaves Zero to take the night-shift as always.

"I just wonder where he is tonight" Rin asked herself before going to sleep.

On the other hand...

Not too far away from others. The wind blows lightly on the verdant meadow of the forest...Luxus is gazing up at the bright full moon and the clear night sky.

"It's been a long long time ago…."he whispered

**_To be continued._**


	2. beyond the sacred hindrance

**Chapter-2: Beyond the Sacred Hindrance**

******_"So I'm going to take a chance and invite the unknown to a deadly dance"_**

_There they move toward and draw closer..._

_They shout furiously... in great anguish…_

_"No! Let me go!" It echoed continuously and sunk into a brink darkness._

The sun was still silent. As Luxus has awakened in sudden grief.

"_A nightmare...?_" He thought as he got down from the tree he was sleeping in. He doesn't really understand why the others chose to make camp at the woods where monsters can stroll around freely and encounter them. The camp fire didn't help much but it does keep them warm, even though it may as well lead their enemies towards them.

He walk past down the forest and get back to camp. He finds that everyone, even Zero, is still fast asleep.

"Good morning. Have you just returned?" Rin asked as she tapped Luxus' shoulder forcing him to aim his guns at her out of habit.

"You know, if I hadn't known any better, I would have shot you without thinking twice." He pointed out as he puts his guns back at his holsters as Rin look at him confused.

"_Sometimes, I wonder if that innocent mind of hers gets her into trouble._" Luxus thought as he decided to answer her question.

"Yes and I didn't notice you" He replied with a half-smile as Rin nodded as she welcomed him back.

Rin just smiled back as she got back to the camp fire to prepare their morning breakfast.

"May I help?" Luxus asked trying to be generous to her as an apology for almost shooting her.

"Why not?"She answered gladly even though it defeats the purpose of Luxus atoning for his near mistake.

He joined Rin and worked together, as one by one the chase woke up and did their daily routines. Elesis polishes her weapons and so did Seighart as he teaches his kin how to clean it off of dirt and blood like Zero always does.

Lire and Ryan went into the forest to collect some herbs and wild plants and vegetables as emergency supplies. These emergency stock of food and medicine helps them travel great distances even without stopping to a nearby town to re-supply themselves.

Arme and Lass chat with each other, though Lass isn't quite the talker he manages to keep Arme interested as he tells her of some of the monsters they fought recently and how to fight them.

Ronan came to help Rin and was surprised to find Luxus helping out in breakfast too. Though he didn't mind his presence in preparing their food it always makes him think if he should trust him more with their daily task.

Jin, Amy, and Asin were training sparring and training with each other. As per usual, Asin would go too far with his attacks and would sometimes cause great devastation at his surroundings which causes the two to be angry with him as he apologizes.

The three other demons, Dio, Ley, and Zero have a chat with each other to get to know themselves more. The Chieftain of the Burning Canyon tribe wanted to know how everything about what has happened at Elyos and how the Asmodians moving about. Ley informs him about his tribe's strange behavior as the chieftain took that in as a bad sign that things are slowly getting out of hand. Zero, however, couldn't give him much information other than the fact that Duel has joined a new tribe who gave him more power and plans to use his strength to further feed his unfathomable bloodlust. Dio and Ley nodded their heads in understanding as they think of how to deal with the possible threat at hand.

Mari continued to read her book after she woke up and did a few adjustments to her mechanisms and weaponry. Everyone else didn't bother to go near her as she warned everyone that her "adjustments" are dangerous as it was proven once when she caused an explosion which nearly knocked out the whole team.

After a while, Rin, Ronan, and Luxus finally finished making breakfast as the smell of cooked food filled the air and their hungry stomachs. Everyone helped each other in handing out their meals. Luxus hid a smile under his pale face as they continued eating, little did he know that Rin noticed him smile but didn't point it out because of her respect for him.

"Lire, would you please get the map?" Elesis asked as she eats her meal as Lire looks for the map in their luggage.

"Uhhmm… here. " Lire said as she handed Elesis the world map.

"When do you think we can arrive to the next town?"Amy asked as as she wanted to buy new clothes for herself. Jin and Asin immediately shivered at the thought of carrying her shopping bags and so did Jeeves who saw his mistress give out a smile of the idea of getting to the next town.

"It's still a few kilometers away. It seems like we could reach the town tomorrow afternoon." Elesis explained as she rolled the map back to its former shape and hands it to Lire who puts it away in their luggage.

"So there's a possibility that we will stay here for another 2 nights?" Rin asked curiously as the others turned to look at her.

"Yes, there is." Ley answered for all of them as they nodded.

"Ohh... yeah... if we encounter something here it maybe time-consuming enough to lengthen our stay in this forest." Asin stated as this caused the whole chase to cringed. As much as they really wanted for them not to fight monsters... they always seem to find a way to meet them.

Amy gave a sigh and pout as she finds out that it will be long till she finally buys new clothes... much to Jin and Asin's relief.

"What's wrong about that? You already slept here with us and it's not that bad, right?" Jin asked as some of them agreed, this included Luxus who didn't mind the forest's seclusion, while others didn't agree with him.

"Look at Arme, she doesn't have any problems with this forest at all." Lass pointed out as everyone turned to look at Arme who is busy eating her food.

"Huh? Why is everyone looking at me? Have I done something wrong?" Arme asked a bit clueless as to what is going on as Elesis snickers.

"She doesn't even care to what were talking about!" Elesis declared while laughing.

Everyone laughed at it as well as this caused for Arme to be embarrassed. It is times like these that the Grand Chase truly get along with their travels even though they are pretty much different from one another. The demons were particularly not fond of the joy in laughter but in time managed to have softened themselves to allow it. Everyone notes that it was a big step forward in their process of getting along well.

"Is is just me or is it getting colder here?" Amy asked as she gave a small sniffle which causes her to wrinkle her nose.

"Ohh! I didn't notice it!" Ryan said as he was used to the cold winters that followed through the course of Mother Nature. Living in the wild has caused him to get used to weather changes quickly unlike some of his companions.

"At this temperature... Autumn will end soon." He added as he guessed it right as the sun was giving off less of its light which indicated that it will be the winter season soon.

"Maybe around this time next week. The snow will start falling by then." Lire stated as she too can tell from Nature's grasp of the up-coming winter snow.

"Don't worry, we will do everything we can to reach the next town, right everyone?" Jin said as he assured that they will get to the next town in time to get a warm place to stay in.

"Everyone doesn't want to sleep and stay outside while its snowing " Mari said while eating her breakfast slowly as everyone else agreed with her.

"I'm finished." Sieghart said as he puts his plate down and leaves to get his things ready.

"Me too." Dio said as everyone else soon followed.

"Well, if everyone's finished we're moving on." Elesis exclaimed as she moves to get everything ready.

After everyone's finished, they helped each other clean up their tents and their other belongings and set off to continue their journey.

After few hours of walking. Arme felt something strange at the forest.

"Whoa! Such a great power!" Arme exclaimed surprised by the sudden shift on mana on the forest.

"You noticed it?"Asin asked as he felt it pass his skin too.

"You, too?"

"Yeah. And it makes my blood rush on my nerves." Asin replied giving a sadistic smile. It has been a while since the last time he felt his thirst for battle.

"This power... its a dark one, isn't it?" Dio asked as this power reminded him of the Ancient Demons of their past.

"Yeah." Ley answered while Jeeves looked prepared for battle for his mistress.

Surprised, Luxus ran away from them as he tries to locate the source of this shift of power. His left hand has been shaking violently ever since he felt the shift in mana and for this reason, he knew who was giving off this tremendous power. Everyone else noticed him leave and followed him because everyone knew if he goes alone it usually means a brand of trouble awaiting for them later.

"Where'd he go?" Mari asked as she took note of the bounty hunter's unorthodox speed and movements through the forest. She could almost conclude that his movements are like those of the Elven folk but he is quicker than he appears and easier to appear and disappear in a moments notice.

"He's gone." Arme pointed out while panting, she wasn't used to running and catching up with everyone took a good toll on her.

"Dang it! We lost him!" Lass cursed as he concentrate and try to locate him faster at a moments notice.

"Again, his skills as a lone wolf even as a Bounty Hunter surpasses my expectations." Dio praised as Sieghart took note of that as well.

Just as they were about to begin to search for their friend, a loud crash was heard coming from nearby. They immediately tried and traced where it came from as they soon find Luxus there with company as they had expected. Said company was a lady and there, right behind her, The monstrous dragon that they've already fought in the desert of alcubra,where they meet Lime. the dragon is sitting quietly observing the two beings quarrel. Everyone was stunned and in great astonishment at the presence of Berkas,and shear raw power of the Lady as Luxus, himself, is far too familiar with its power from a distant memory.

Luxus gnashed his teeth in pure hatred and anger at the two as he removes the chain binding his Soul Arbiter on his back and places said chain on his mouth as his weapon hangs a little on his back. He then grabs for his father's dagger, the Nether Blade, and readies it on his left hand and his shotgun, rupture, on his right. When everyone saw him bringing out three of his powerful weapons on the ready, he means business.

"The dark aura comes from her everyone!" Arme exclaimed as she readies her War Staff as everyone else soon followed.

"Who is she?" Elesis asked as her Ssanggeom are still on their hilts.

"Greetings, so these are the members of the so-called Grand chase, yes?" The lady asked as everyone nodded. Luxus grabs the chain on his mouth using his right hand while still holding on to his shotgun.

"Are you the one responsible for the onslaught at the town?" Luxus asked as the lady looked down on him.

"Yes." She answered with a sadistic smile on her face. Everyone then knew that they will have to bring her down whether they like it or not.

"But, don't worry. My last attack was a few days ago. I did'nt destroy it completely, only the half or a bit of it. I only make minimal attacks and maybe they have already fixed it." The lady pointed out as the chase cannot argue back and that her words maybe true.

"Then why do such assaults without wiping it completely?" Dio asked as experience has told him she is either one who enjoys pointless destruction or just a person who is completely insane and unreasonable. Either way, she had already managed to get their attention on what she did so now she's a threat to the peace of Aernas.

"It's because I don't really have the intention to almost destroying that place." She pointed out as Zero sensed she was telling the truth and relied this information to the others.

"She's telling the truth." Zero spoke out as he still didn't brought out Grandark from his back.

"Why involve so many innocent people then?!" Lire asked angrily, releasing a powerful arrow well aimed to hit the lady.

"Ohh... little elf... it's because that was my only option." She answered her with a smile as she merely grabs the arrow, almost reaching her head and lets it drop to the ground much to their surprise.

"But the town is beautiful and peaceful. It's too wonderful that even a little scratch is difficult to do. That's why I didn't destroy it completely... and by the way, it's hard to reconstruct the whole town with my last attack but surprisingly... their currently bringing the town back to normal. So don't be too mad, okay~?" She said teasingly as this only ticked off some of the members of Grand Chase as the others merely look on at her with disgust.

"What do you really want!? Why was even the town implicated!? Sieghart shouted at her, demanding for an answer as he reached his rage mode and readies his Soluna and makes a stance.

"I need the bounty hunter, hero of old. And automatically, when there's destruction, there are heroes and saviors who follow. Knowing that he belongs with the so-called Grand Chase, I just need to catch their attention and bring him to me." She explained as her words were true and are exactly on the mark.

Luxus looked down in great misery and clenched his fist. He wasn't going to let this crazy person go after what she did to the town now, bounty money or not, she is going down!

"Ohh, I just remembered how the nuns of a certain school there pleaded and beg for mercy. What an ecstasy~" She said with an evil smile on her face as this provoked Luxus even more.

"What have you done to them?!"Luxus shouted in rage as he immediately rushed towards the lady and attacks her with his Nether Blade as she easily dodged his attack though it caught some strands of her hair.

This led the whole chase to begin their combat with the lady as well. They hoped that the fearsome berkas was only for looks and no bite due to last time that they fight Berkas,the heated fight leave the both sides extremely fatigued but in the end,Berkas retreats and assures that next time his enemies will kneel before him.

"Berkas was just watching_..._" Ley thought as this would have been the perfect opportunity for said beast to join the Lady For a fight but it merely stood there silent at the events that are unfolding in front of it.

"Why?! Why do you need to get other people involved?! This whole affair is between you and me!" Luxus yelled as he draws his shotgun, Rupture, and fires a single shot at her direction as she used magic to ricochet some of the lead that left the gun though a few of its lead manage to go spread everywhere else around her.

"_So this is the so-called rumored lovers quarrel that I've been hearing about._" Ley told Dio in a whisper as this confused him.

"_How can this be a lovers quarrel when these two obviously hate each other?_" Dio asked as Mari joins in on the chat.

"_I don't know, Luxus seems to be lead on by strong women._" She pointed out making the chieften blush a bit.

"_I never knew he was into those things... then again, we are demons._" He said as Zero butts in as he manages to cut through a magic attack aimed at the group.

"_I personally believe that Luxus is the one doing the leading though._" Zero pointed out as he brought out Grandark and assumed a defensive stance.

"Can the four of you quit it already!?" Luxus shouted at the four as he uses his Soul Arbiter, which was clinging on his back, to attack them as they quickly scattered.

"Sorry, it's just that you mentioned the word "affair" that we got so intrigued by your relationship with her." Ley explained as she teleports right next to Arme who was casting heal to Elesis. The other three nodded in agreement as Luxus gave a facepalm.

"The fu- What are you!? A bunch of children!? That was just a figure of speech! Like hell I would have a relationship with a lunatic like her!" Luxus yelled as everyone else stopped what they were doing, even the enemy stopped attacking to stare at the bounty hunter.

"What's with the sudden stare?" Luxus asked as he felt quite disturbed.

"So... does that mean your still a virgin?" Sieghart asked as everyone fell silent. Luxus teleported and reappeared behind the Gladiator while wrapping his Nether Blade around his neck.

"..." Of course, Sieghart is immortal and his wounds will heal instantly but the feeling of getting a knife sliced through your neck is something he would rather live without.

"Sorry, I've gone too far." Sieghart apologized as Luxus retreats and reappears in front of the lady giving her a taste of lead as everyone else followed.

"Hmm, you have some interesting companions there. After throwing me in the netherworld, you've surprisingly gotten soft. But still, there's only one reason why I will continue to hate you, Bounty Hunter and you're going to taste my vengeance!" The lady exclaimed while dodging every powerful strikes she receives as Luxus and the others try with all they had to bring the woman down, insane or not!

**-To be continued**


	3. Welcome to the Vanity Faire

**Chapter-3: Welcome to the Vanity Faire**

_**"Insanity is whispering to me...What i believe is just not making sense of what i see..."**__**  
**_

*Clang* *Clash* *Whoosh* *Boom*

These are the sounds you can here within the battlefield the chase has made around Berkas and his new companion. Everyone struggled to defeat his new companion but things didn't go as they liked. The rest of the chase can feel their bodies complaining to them, except for a few who are naturally skilled or talented to continue. But, both sides never budge from bringing the other down... and thus, the battle continues.

"They are your friends? So, you have nothing to hide from them, right?" The mysterious woman taunted the already angry Luxus as he aimed to connect his sawed-off shotgun at her only for it to be deflected and for the chase to evade the spray of stray bullets. The girl smirked as she used powerful magic attacks on them, rendering some useless while some connected only for either Arme, Amy, or Lime to heal them.

"Somehow..." Luxus glared at her before he turned around and aimed his Eyeteeth at the sky. The woman charged at him but regrets it afterwards when a rain of lead came pouring down at her but not on Luxus.

"**Make it Rain!**" The woman managed to teleport away from the attack radius but that didn't stop the bullets from grazing her skin.

"Why are you being so hideous towards your friends?" The mysterious woman asked as she quickly healed herself from Luxus earlier attack and counters them by unexpectedly throwing them in mid-air which caught some off guard. The others managed to use this leverage to their advantage but that didn't stop her from blocking their attacks. However, Berkas can tell that his partner was merely toying with them as she hadn't been attempting to take their lives yet.

"Heh, like you ever cared," Luxus blatantly stated after sending two bullets on her way which she managed to block and quickly teleported away from him as he appeared in front of her all of a sudden and continues his volley of bullets at her.

"**Pulverize!**" Because of the added distance, the mysterious woman merely dodged when Luxus gun has aimed for her when he stopped to pull the trigger of his gun. This rendered his attack ineffective as it wasted a good number of his bullets.

"_If only I can use __that __technique... but if I did, they'll be caught in the crossfire,_" While Luxus was refilling his guns with ammo, the chase charges in to back him up.

However, the woman jumped off because of the various attacks she received from the rest of the chase, landing on a distance to take a pause. Everyone stopped when she jumped away from them and listened on what she had to say.

"Is it just like what happened a long time ago?" She asked as her red lips gave out a curious and enigmatic smile which hinted directly at Luxus. He gripped his guns, Eyeteeth, before making a reply.

"What are you talking about?" Luxus asked. To him, it was a big deal for him to talk about himself. Especially when it involves the word "past" and "self".

"You're doing your best to protect them. But in the end, they'll leave you." She merely answered her with a deep meaning behind her words which confused all but Luxus. Luxus was motionless for a bit and remained silent hinting his distaste at the subject at hand.

"And besides, you didn't even know that there's a reason that's why she come with them in the end,your mind was shut in hatred and that time that you didn't look back."She hinted cruelly at Luxus as this confused the chase further.

"_Who is she?_"

"_What's her relationship with Luxus?_"

"_So, she really is his mate?_"

"_Told you she is,_"

"_Still can't believe he is a virgin,_" Were the thoughts of the chase as both the mysterious woman and Luxus could feel that some of them didn't respect the fact that they are enemies.

''Leaving her crying behind." She continued ignoring the fact that the chase thought she was Luxus' mate. She then pointed a finger at one unexpectedly surprising individual.

''Isn't that right, Crimson River?" The others, except for Luxus, Jeeves, and Ley, looked slowly towards Ley who is currently stunned, eyes widened at the moment she heard the woman called to her as well as Jeeves.

"What's with the face?" She asked tauntingly while laughing when she saw Ley's reaction.

"I don't know a thing of what you're talking about..." Ley mumbled to herself as she looked to her butler. Jeeves didn't flinch as he only focused his gaze upon the mysterious individual in front of them.

"_How could she know...?_" Though he tried not to show it, few of the chase saw his grip unconsciously tighten while glaring at her.

"Stop pretending that you don't know, young mistress." The tone of her voice sounder different when she said that but it gave way to confirm Jeeves' suspicion about the girl as he involuntarily turned to Luxus.

"What... it can't... how?" Ley started before glaring at the smiling figure before her taking delight on the scene.

For a while, the conversation left the Chase in a great confusion on what's happening around that time. Everyone else looked at each other as they are worried on what Ley might do to Luxus if she invoked a sudden attack on the bounty hunter.

"Ohh... everyone is clueless... except these two..." The last bit was whispered to herself. She gave a smile while everyone is still in a state of confusion. They were curious of what is going on... but no one dared to ask.

"That's it!" Her sudden declaration got the entire chase's attention. Luxus eyes widen at the sudden realization on what she is going to do.

Their mysterious enemy then started chanting as a huge and powerful magic circle enveloped the entire forest. Everyone then flinched in shock and surprise, they needed to take action quickly but some unknown force was stopping them from doing so.

''It's a spell!"Arme shouted when she realized what was happening to them.

"Wa-wait! I-i can't move!" Lime shouted forcing herself to move as her Hammer of Justice fell to the ground.

"Kyaah! I'm also stuck!" Amy exclaimed unable to move as Jin and Asin tried to collect their Ki and force themselves out of their bind but failed.

"What just happened?!" Elesis asked completely confused and surprise at the sudden events that are transpiring around her.

"We're trapped!"Sieghart snapped as he tried using his rage to break out off the trap spell that making them immobile.

Everyone, now trapped in the unknown spell that they got themselves in thanks to their enemy who cast the spell upon them.

"Don't worry, no one will be hurt while wandering there. But the problem is, you guys need to get out of there or be trapped inside forever~" She explained with a mocking grin as she turned and walked to Berkas.

Everyone glares at her angrily, having no choice because of their entrapment.

"You've got them so easily, impressive,"Berkas complimented his companion as she wiggled her finger.

"I already told you, just trust me." She then turned back to the chase.

"Oh, right. I remember now... where are my manners? My name is Herra, it's a pleasure to meet you all," She introduced herself while giving a bow to everyone.

"After this, I am hoping that everyone will understand what we're talking about," And with that said and done, darkness took the visions of everyone in the chase.

*_Somewhere; time around early morning._*

The Chase woke up by the sounds of birds chirping as the morning ray of lights shines in the place. Knowing that all of them passed out, they noticed that the Lady and Berkas were already gone and out sight. They also took notice that they still had their equipment with them, supplies, and their bags.

"Ahhh! My head hurts! This reminds me a lot about the time Mari pushed me on that cliff!" Sieghart complained with a terrible headache pounding on him like there is no tomorrow.

"It proved that you are really immortal, Sieghart," The Rune Caster pointed out as she checked if her weapons and machinery were undamaged.

Little by little, everyone started to get up and still feel the after effects of the spell their enemy just used on them. After a while, the Chase began to realize that they're not in the same place anymore.

"Where are we?" Lire asked looking around. Her keen sense of remembering the forest they walked through is one of the special traits of her people and she, along with Ryan, can tell that they are not in the same place anymore.

"I don't know..." Elesis started weakly as she still felt weak from the after effects of the spell that was used.

"The time changed, it's early in the morning once again," Mari pointed after a few seconds of observing the place.

"Now isn't that obvious?" Sieghart said rather sarcastically but meant no ill intent in it. Everyone in the chase knew, other than Mari herself, that Sieghart has a soft spot for the other Kounat survivor.

"I wonder what that crazy woman did..." Arme pondered curiously as she brought her War Staff up.

Everyone then walked to an unknown direction and tried to know their current location while Ronan spoke up and asked something about what happened earlier.

"Who is that woman, Herra? And what is her power?" Ronan asked directly at Luxus who looked away a bit before answering.

"She's an illusionist and escapee from Arallu, or Underworld as you call it, a long time ago... and I hunted her down and brought her back because she one of my targets on my list. Apparently, it seems that it is too early to remove her name from my list..." Luxus answered hesitatingly, the feeling of guilt overwhelming him as he knew that he brought them into this mess.

_"But i don't know how and where she gets everything about it..." _Luxus thought drastically wondering how Herra get those information about his past.

"So that's why we're kinda hypnotized or something back there. Listening to every word she said was actually a part of her trade," Ryan assumed while they're still wandering around the unknown forest.

Then, all of a sudden, everything changed in a matter of moments and saw a town nearby. As they were entering the town, Luxus stopped as they met a group of children in uniform running and bursting in seams of laughter.

_"As expected." _The feeling of dread returned to him as he slowed his pace.

"_Curses! What am I going to do now?" _He asked himself before giving out a sigh of defeat.

Rin was the only one who noticed the sigh and asked Luxus "Are you okay?"

Of course, Luxus didn't reply or rather he didn't want to 'til Lass shouted and was about to ask a child, but when he called the child, he ignored him as if the child didn't see and heard anything and continued running, catching up to others.

"What the-?" Lass started as he felt deeply hurt and embarrassed at the same time. What he didn't know is that the boy he talked to is purely fiction.

"I don't think the child heard you~" Lime commented with a humming tune, smiling in the cute way she always does.

"Whoa... it looks like the woman; Herra is still creeping in our guts." Elesis joked whilst smiling.

"It's like we don't even exist in this place." Amy added in the laughs. Jin and Asin did their best to keep a poker face on at her seemingly tasteless joke.

"Well, we're caught inside Herra's spell, right? I don't remember encountering such a spell in our past and recent battles," Arme pointed out ending the series of laughs of the girls.

"Because it looks like our souls and minds were taken to and separated from our physical bodies. Basically, we're trapped like how she caught our minds while we're listening to her. She's a dangerous one..." Arme explained being the powerful mage in the Chase and her fingers placed on her lips, looking up thinking as bigger curiosity consumes her mind. To both Elesis and Lire, this meant that Arme has taken an interest to their illusive foe but to Arme it means that they should be cautious when confronting her.

"We can't talk to people or even touch them, but we can interact with the things that have no life in it. In here, all we can do is watch and observe..." Mari stated as she brushed her hands on a wall of a building showing everyone that they could touch the surroundings but not the people.

"It seems like she has something to show us..." Lass stated the fact for it was really the pure intention of Herra. The chase agrees, after all, she wouldn't want to waste her time showing something that has no meaning, right? Or is there?

"Aha! We need to find the source of this fake place and destroy it! As we destroy the source, we will also destroy the spell and that will result for our minds and soul be brought back!"Asin explained with a sudden epiphany and a big smile on his face thinking on how he was about to destroy such a thing.

"Eeeeek!What is that!?" Amy shouted in great surprise and was about to cry because everyone was just thinking quietly around the same time Asin made his proclamation. So basically, Asin's words won over Amy's shriek and this caused for her to pout.

Everyone looked at him, where he got that idea from his head when he knows nothing about magic is a mystery in its own right.

"What's wrong with you!?" Amy shouted on Asin madly giving him a smack as he raised his hands in his defense.

"Hey, I was only pointing out the obvious!" He stated while the chase thought otherwise.

"_Liar!_"

"Why do I get the feeling that I am being disrespected just now?" Apparently, Asin can sense his comrades insecurity but left it as is.

"He's right, that was a nice idea. We can find something that represents Herra or her spell here and destroy it." Arme explained confirming Asin's earlier proposition.

"So... all we need to do is to destroy it?" Sieghart asked to confirm that there's nothing more they need to do after that. But, there were times that their plans would backfire against them when they thought they were on the right track... we'll leave that out for later.

The conversation about how they were supposed to get out of there ended when a child caught all of their attention and whose face looks so familiar caught their attention when he came to them while walking slowly towards the school where the other children run into.

"Ohh my gosh! Is that you?" Amy asked as all of them looked behind and stares at Luxus who is quiet since their earlier conversation and seems like he still hasn't recovered yet from what had happened earlier.

"There's no doubt, that's him." Lass confirmed pointing a finger at the young Luxus. Luxus felt uncomfortable when their gaze landed on him and turned his head the other way which answered their earlier question.

"What is that? Elesis asked as she turned and looked back at the young figure.

Everyone was motionless and didn't dare speak out and give opinion or anything along those lines. They merely observed the child before Luxus continued in front of them.

"Welcome..." Luxus broke the silence with a smile surprising the Chase. He then turned back and walked forward following his younger self.

Everyone realized where they are and just followed Luxus who continued stalking the boy as the child enters the school. Observing the young one closely, they noticed that no one went to greet him or turn their gaze on him. The same is said when he finally entered his classroom but he greeted the nun who serves as their teacher and took his sit at the last row in the far side of the room.

(*This wasn't explained last chapter but the city Luxus' was referring to is also the place where they are standing right now.)

The others concluded that even back then he was unsociable.

The Chase went on and followed Luxus who is after his younger version without any reasons. Luxus turned back to get their opinion on their current situation. The looks on everyone's faces told him that they were anything but pleasant.

"Uhhhmm..." Rin started in low and soft voice while showing a slight blush which confused the bounty hunter. Seighart, Mari, Asin, Lime, and probably Zero can tell why she is acting like that but chose not to talk about it. The others remain oblivious to it though and Luxus is the one person who shouldn't be in this dense.

"We're all together here." Lire said answering the look that Luxus gave.

Luxus just turned away and continued to follow himself as a "young" boy. Everyone followed him, watched the boy in his school. They took notice on how he behaves in class as well. He would listen to their teacher and there were times that he would look outside the window. Nobody dared look at his direction other than their teacher who didn't mind his behavior.

Lunch time came and all the other students made way to go the cafeteria while some stayed behind. Luxus was one of the students who stayed and had a packed lunch with them. Strangely, nobody bothered to chat with him but the boy seemed happy about that and continued eating his lunch. There were times when some of his classmates asked him when was the next subject or what homework they needed to answer and he would always answer back without batting an eye from them while reading a book.

Time passed and the bell rang. Time for the students to come home. A bunch of them ran or walked to the gate, some stayed behind for club activities. It was only him who was left inside the class.

Being the last to leave the room means you need to rearrange the seats and clean the room which was perfectly fine for him since he was used to it. When he finally decided to leave, the boy walked in the hallway, everyone noticed when the boy stopped at the front of a classroom for a moment... but continued walking. For a second, the other chasers were tempted to open the door to the classroom but decided against it and followed the leaving boy who is later followed by a white-haired girl who has pale skin as white as snow.

The skies turned a hue of gold and embraced the setting sun. They're still after the boy as he walks down the a path and noticed some other students walking in groups not too far away from him. It looks like most of the students were on the same path on their way home which would mean that they leave around that neighborhood which can be said the same for Luxus who didn't even turn his head and only looked at the walking stones in front of him not even paying mind to some of the toys in a toy shop, cake in a cake store, or bread in a nearby bakery even though the smell was quite delicious to the chase.

"Do you notice it?" Amy whispers to Jin.

"Notice what?" Jin asked in confusion as Asin was directly behind him.

"Look at them..." Mari said as she pointed out on the group of students from a distance.

"They're all heading the same way." Mari added as Jin and others look forward and they saw it was true and that group of children entered a huge gate. And just like what they'd predicted, they also entered the gate and there they saw a huge building where many children were running everywhere.

"Wait a minute! This is an.." Lass stated as he gaze at the surroundings with amazement. The others then knew that then and there... that they were peeking in Luxus' past.

**To be continued.**


	4. Tilting the hourglass

**Chapter-4: Tilting the Hourglass**

_**"Emptiness has darkened my eyes as i hopelessly begged for my life to end...Tell me why."**_

It was not only Lass who was surprised, but also the whole chase. The place where they are standing right now is a sight to behold even by the most noteworthy of designs. What they see inside the gate is an enormous area with a huge mansion-like building made out of bricks and concrete; there is also a big playground right next to it with a great number of children running around.

"Is this...?" Mari was lost for words for once and she was usually the one who can say the most detailed of things if it catches her eye. Her eyes had an unusual excitement in them and the chase can tell that this place caught her full interest.

"You lived here?" Elesis was the first one to break from their trance as she turned to ask Luxus who was standing behind them silently.

He nodded his head as an answer to her then looked up in the sky while the others focused their eyes at the place. Looking around, they were wondering why the Demon Hunter lived in the Human World(Aernas). Getting back to him; it seems like he already calmed down and steadied himself after the last encounter with the enemy.

"I lived in this orphanage," More like stating than introducing, Luxus points at the Mansion-like building. Mari and a few others noticed that Luxus used the past tense "lived" which means he used to stay at the orphanage he was pointing at. But, no one dared ask why he used past tense and they dared not bring it up.

When they already entered inside the Orphanage, they've already lost track of the "young" version of Luxus that they were following a while back. However, everyone just stared at the whole place for a brief moment.

"Can we stay here temporarily while we're thinking of a way out of this woman's spell? We can talk and think about it later without anyone disturbing us," Luxus asked catching everyone's attention. Everyone else take turns to glance at their teammates for a decision as Luxus grips his hand.

After a moment, everyone agreed and gave Luxus a nod of approval for his suggestion. Luxus then lead the way as the others followed. The sound of a bell rang throughout the building which caused the children from outside and others who were doing something else inside the building to gather and form an audience.

"Huh? What's going on?" Arme asked confused at the sudden gathering of kids.

"It seems that there's going to be an announcement," Sieghart pointed out as there were shadows coming in their direction.

"Don't mind it, she will just introduce the new kid that will be staying with us in the Orphanage," Luxus said as he turned his head looking away at a distance.

Strangely, when they continued walking, Ley couldn't help but stop all of a sudden and tried to look at the crowd of kids clearly.

"Is there something wrong Ley?" Dio asked showing concern for the fellow demon as everyone turned to look at her.

Ley didn't respond to Dio's question. Realizing what happened to his mistrees, Jeeves tapped her shoulder.

"Mistress?"

"Hmm... ohh... yes, I'm okay. I'm sorry for the sudden delay. Let us continue forward..." Though there was a delay in the response, Ley proved that she was fine as she continued to levitate from the ground again. Jeeves knows why his mistress acted like that ever since they got into this place. He can't stop himself from worrying for her mistress' condition. Jeeves sensed something bad is going to happen and this makes him quite uncomfortable.

And Jeeves wasn't the only one to have noticed. Everyone else, including Dio but excluding Luxus who wasn't concerned, feel that there's something strange going on about Ley. It may have been because of what they're enemy had told them earlier which also somehow involved Luxus but everyone ignored it for the time being out of respect for their fellow chaser.

Luxus once again lead the way inside the mansion like-structure. They went up the staircase in the middle of the hall. Luxus lead on while everyone's eyes are feasting freely at the mansion like-structure and their furniture and some paintings. While making their way up, they saw a few different children from the ones earlier who are being escorted by the Nuns. They saw a great number of rooms on the first corridor they stepped onto and another hall leading to what seems to be the owner's office. The great hall caught their eyes, however, and Lime was the most entranced by the building. Eyes sparkling and all at the gorgeous and splendid religious designs depicting the Great Deities and other Gods of Aernas.

"Awesome!" Lime exclaimed in great excitement as she stopped and looked delightfully at the ceiling, walls, and everything else that comes to veiw as everyone else followed.

"Close your mouth, you look like your about to foam yourself from over-excitement," Asin teased Lime as her mouth was open with amazement. However, Lime was so focused at her surroundings that she completely ignored Asin's comment.

"Ok, nice talking..."

"Huh?" Lime asked confused after a few minutes as she got her floating mind back from cloud nine.

"Pss- Nevermind," Asin said with a snicker as he looked away.

"Do you like the place? All of the Nuns here helped each other to finish these things," Luxus revealed as walked near Lime and joined her in her reminiscence the place.

"Yes! It's really wonderful!" Lime declared with a bright smile on her face.

"Can we continue? I'm kinda getting tired," Elesis complained disturbing the good time Luxus and Lime were having.

"Very well, let's go." Luxus turns around and leads the way once again.

After a few more minutes of walking up the long staircase, they've finally reached the top of the building which was the attic. The place surprisingly doesn't look like an attic because the place seemingly looked clean though having unused beds which was odd. The room is huge enough for the entire group to stay for a while which was a lot better than pitching up camp at the forest for so long.

They begin to settle themselves up in the attic. They settled their stuff and arranged the beds according to their liking which was a lot better than the sleeping bags they used. Those who already finished working on bed took a rest or sat down to do other things. Just like what Luxus said, the place is quite peaceful enough for their minds to think carefully. There were no sounds outside that could bother or disturb them much to their relief.

"Huh! Finally! I can take a comfortable rest..." Amy declared as she laid herself down on her bed.

"This room is clean; it's not dusty or something that I've expected for an attic." Sieghart pointed out after he laid himself on his own bed to relax.

"Actually, this is one of my hiding places or hangout when I ran away from school. I always cleaned the place so that I wouldn't have the trouble of cleaning it after I use it." Luxus explained to Sieghart as he remembered hiding himself in the attic while their strict and annoying fat administrator runs around looking for him.

_"Pant... pant... Mr. Wilde! Come back here! Where are you?!"_

"Now, does anyone have an idea about this place?" Dio spoke out and asked everyone as this disrupted Luxus' train of thought.

"No." Ronan answered while he was cleaning his Cursed sword Tyrfing.

"I think Mari already has one," Sieghart then pointed to Mari who was reading her book quietly at the corner. Sieghart knows more on how Mari acts and he knows how fast she could determine things than anyone else in the Grand Chase because of her interest and big curiosity about things just like her curiosity for an immortal like himself which made her a keen observer.

"Mari?" Lire called out to Mari as everyone stared at her. Mari closed her book and looked at everyone before making a reply.

"You cat-eyed girl, do you already have a conclusion about this place?" Elesis asked as everyone, except Mari herself, find her nicknaming sense quite offending.

"It's pretty obvious... we're on Hera's spell and we are seeing Luxus' past. So, this really means that the spell is related to the Bounty Hunter and that proves that the "something" that we are looking for which represents the spell is also likely linked to Luxus. That's how simple it is..." Mari spoke and explained everything in great detail with the calmness of spring water.

"That was confusing..." Ryan complained as there were swirls forming on his eyes.

"So... it means..." Lass started as he turned to look at his brother who was not paying attention and was looking outside the window.

"It means we're going to have to sneak into his past life and see everything like an investigation?!" Dio asked with great dismay as he imagines himself doing something like that. He has no interest in the Bounty Hunter and he really dislikes the idea after everything that happened in the Wizard's Labyrinth where Luxus welcomed both him and Ley with an attack which forced Dio and Ley back because of the Bounty Hunter's unorthodox speed and reflexes. That day, unbeknownst to all, was the day when his pride was stepped on.

"If that;s the only way we can find the solution in this problem... then there's not much of a choice but to do it." Jin said as he turned to Asin who only grinned with much excitement to peer into the Bounty Hunter's past.

"Wait! IF that's the way it is... we could also focus on other things which are related to him such as the school, this orphanage, his things and his interest as a child," Ryan said making a comeback as he finally recovered from his earlier confusion.

"Why not just guard him day and night?" Arme said with a giggle.

"The school and the Orphanage were enough. Do you really need to know everything?" She added teasingly which embarrassed Ryan a bit.

"Only if it's okay for him," Rin pointed to Luxus. The chase needed to get his permission for they already know that Luxus treats them with great cynicism.

"Hmm? No need to hold yourselves back, see anything you want to see so we can find what we are looking and get out of this place." Luxus said as he mumbled to himself which was quite straight forward of him. Ley gave him a rather surprised or angry look, whichever it was, Ley doesn't know herself.

"Well, we're going to split into individual groups tomorrow. Is that clear?" Elesis declared as the leader she is.

"Yes Ma'am," Ryan said as everyone routinely followed including Luxus who wasn't particularly listening but went with it anyway.

After that, one by one the chase fell into a deep slumber to rest their weary bodies. Sleeping soundly as time passes, the hands of the clock ticking landed on midnight. Luxus got up slowly from his bed and walked out of the room but before he could open the door, Ley called out in a low voice so that the others will not wake up from their sleep.

"Hey," Ley called out. Luxus turned back and look at her strangely.

"What are you planning to do?" Ley asked him suspiciously.

"? ...planning what?" Luxus asked avoiding the question though he was failing and chose to look at the floor instead to avoid eye contact.

"Don't you dare involve our name in these nonsense" Ley warned as Luxus rolled his eyes.

"Quit messing around. It's not about you nor about your father, Crimson River," Luxus said with venom.

"Don't call me like that!" Ley retorted accidentally raising her voice.

"Be quiet!" Luxus hissed as this made Ley put her hand to her mouth.

"I have no clue why she pointed you that time...Don't exaggerate." He added and decided to leave.

"It's not the right place to talk about this... you're earning yourself too much attention, you may have already exposed yourself to them," Luxus said silently to which only Ley can hear.

Ley was surprised as Luxus pointed out those who are still awake and was listening on their conversatioin

_"Right...he didn't know...''_Ley thought as she looked down.

''_But i hope they won't know something more...''_She sighed and walked he way to her bed as she didn't mind everything around_. _

The next morning, one by one, all of them were awake by a noise of a ringing bell that swarms throughout the building. The noise caused them to get their pillows and cover their ears from it. The noise still continued which annoyed the chase.

"Elesis... stop playing with your swords, it's so noisy," Arme whined unconsciously while she gets up from her bed to shake Elesis.

"Ugh... it's not me..." Elesis groaned sleepily as she knocked Arme's hand away and continued to cover her ears with the pillow.

Arme didn't stop and still continued shaking Elesis to wake her up. Lire noticed them and as always she tried to stop Arme from pestering Elesis' sleeping time.

"Arme, it's not Elesis. It's just the bell ringing." Lire informed her.

It wasn't a good idea to make Elesis angry, if that happenes, she's going to carry a bad tantrum throughout the whole days as it is already proven in her previous experiences with the two from the start. Elesis didn't just argue with Arme but with everyone. Lire, herself, isn't an exception from her madness.

"WHAT'S YOU'RE PROBLEM?!" Elesis shouted irritably. She's really pissed off this time. At least the noised stopped on the mark.

"Uh-oh... I-I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was doing!" Arme, now completely awake realized her mistake and tried to explain herself but couldn't.

"Yeah! Yeah! I am already awake!" Elesis yelled in anger as everyone was quite disturbed. They slowly got up from their own beds and tried to know what was going on.

"So-sorry..." Arme apologized while the others looked at her accusingly. She knew that it was really her fault that caused this mess.

Elesis looked away from her and seemed like she's not going to accept her apology of which Arme notices.

"Hey! I already apologized!" Arme complained while pouting as she was about to cry. It was really like her to be extremely and mockingly immature that she cries over simple things or other things.

"Hey, it's really early in the morning and you two are fighting already?" Sieghart asked with a yawn.

"Grr! Shut up Old man!" Elesis yelled angrily at the tired gladiator who dismissed her attitude as childish. Sieghart knew better than to increase the fire in her already burning temper.

"Elesis," Lire takes notice of Elesis' way of speaking although she understands why she acts like that. Elesis laid on her bed.

"Just let her cool down," Lire whispered to Arme and gave her a comforting wink.

"So let's leave her like that till later. We still have to do something, right?" Dio said earning an understanding nod from everyone.

"Well then, shall we start?" Rin asked consulting everyone. It is not clear if she is only excited for what they are going to do or if she is just genuinely excited.

"If everyone's ready we will go," Elesis said as she stood up from her bed and fixes it.

As soon as they have already finished preparing themselves, they decided to go out of the room and go downstairs to start searching for something that could help them get out of Herra's Hex Spell. While they walk on foot, all of them are thinking about what could be happening on the real world or Aernas. Right now, their unable to distinguish if their opponents have already taken over it or something far more worse though they are not the only ones who have the capabilities to protect the world.

Finally reaching the ground floor, Elesis turned around and asked Luxus a question. "Where should we start?"

Luxus didn't answer immediately though. He looked at his surroundings first and paused for a while because his mind isn't prepared to come with an idea because he never really open himself up and tell others about his personal opinions or things. But, last night, he can't believe that he merely agreed with his comrades and already set things up. Somehow, maybe, Herra was right... that he has gotten soft.

"Anywhere you want to everyone..." He decided in a gruffly toned voice but there's no real meaning behind it. However, this only annoyed Elesis as this took a few minutes for him to decide and getting that kind of answer and what's more in a hoarse way.

"Oh c'mon... we are the ones who should depend on you this time," She said. Luxus didn't want to admit it at the time but Elesis looked like a genuine leader that time.

"Yes, we have everyone here. But do you think we can do it alone? What a shame, you know these things far more better than us. These are all of your memories, right? Have some camaraderie," Elesis said with a raised voice.

Like it is mentioned earlier, he didn't know how he was supposed to tell everyone and no one knows why but Elesis made a really good point. Just then, all of them fell silent when Elesis spoke out those words.

Sieghart, Zero, Mari and those who were still awake last night involuntary gulped as they remembered the conversation between Ley and Luxus. They recalled every word that the Bountry Hunter said.

"Jeez, why am I wasting my time here anyway?" She then turned around and walked away causing the others to be bewildered.

"Wa-wait! Elesis! Where are you going?!" Ronan stuttered out after he recovered from his initial shock as he tries to catch up with her but Jin stopped him.

"Let her be, Ronan." Jin said with a calming tone which made Ronan look down on the ground.

"Like you didn't know her attitude?" Sieghart added with a tease which made Ronan flustered.

"She really is a nag when she's angry, maybe more like a monster would," Arme buzzed trying to lighten the mood up which seemed to work.

"Hey you petty immature brat! I heard you!" Elesis shouted from a distance which shocked them.

"Don't mind her, Arme just woke her up on the wrong side of the bed," Ryan said while smiling. The druid earned a good laugh from some of them which lightened them up.

"Yeah! Don't worry, everything will be okay. Just like I've said earlier, she just need to calm down. She's just not in the mood today," Arme agreed with Ryan and turned to Luxus to give him a smile.

"I don't mind and I don't care though," Luxus replied with a roll of the eyes as he walked off in the opposite direction away from Elesis.

_"I really don't understand why he has to be cynical in front of everyone," _Zero thought.

Everyone who were left behind watched the two walked away and gave a meaningful sigh.

"Well, Maybe that's how ego meets ego." Mari commented as she wrote this down in her notebook which made everyone sweatdrop.

"So it looks like we're going to work without those two." Dio suggested. He didn't want their plan to be postponed because he is eager to know what Ley knows and how she is related to the Demon hunter in some way.

"Definitely," Lime answered for all of them.

"We've got no other choice," Lire groaned.

So they decided to split into groups so that they could not only focus on the young Luxus but also to look into other tings. Mari, Lire, Sieghart, Ryan, Ronan, and Lass decided to observe the school they went to yesterday. They were pretty sure that the child was there.

On the other side is Lime, Amy, Jin and Asin who agreed to be together and stayed at the Orphanage. Arme and Rin disappeared who were soon followed by Ley and Dio who were vanished from their sights. This left Zero to wander the town as the _Wanderer _that he is.

When Mari's group reached the school, they quickly go inside the room where the boy is. Surprisingly, then found two familiar figures sitting at the opposite corners of the room. Elesis on one corner and Luxus on the other end. It gave a very strange atmosphere inside which made the group cringed a bit. Both having no words to say, the two looked at them as they went inside and sat on the ground between the two.

"So, where are the others?" Elesis asked as she broke the silence but it was very obvious that she was still in a foul mood.

"They've decided to observe back in the orphanage, the others I do not know." Mari replied as she continued to observe the young Luxus.

"The other four went missing," Sieghart clarified for Mari.

"Who are they?" Elesis asked without looking at the group.

"Arme, Rin, Ley, and Dio." Ronan answered as Elesis gave a sigh.

"I understand," She replied solemnly.

They spent the rest of the day observing the young Luxus just like they did yesterday. When school ended, they headed back to the orphanage. Along the way they saw Zero looking at a cake shop with drool on his face. When Zero finally notices the group's unnerving stare at them he blushes in embarrassment and joined them back into the orphanage.

"Hi guys," Arme welcomed them back with a smile as they entered the room.

"Where were you guys?" Lass asked to those who disappeared earlier that day.

"Umm... I've been studying the whole place with the help of Rin." Arme explained with twirling her hair.

"And the result is?" Ryan asked a bit excited.

"I'm still not there yet. I still need to verify some things and if it affects the time outside." Arme replied with a stressed look on her face.

"How about you two?" Elesis pointed at both Dio and Ley who didn't give a reply.

"Well, I don't have to waste my time with them. How about your group Jin?" Elesis asked as she turned to Jin who noted that she still had a tantrum.

The four of them acted strangely, Asin looked away while Jin couldn't breath because Amy covered his mouth with her hands to stop him from laughing. This didn't stop him, however, as he broke free and pointed at Lime.

"All we did was watch that girl run in the Grand Hall and jump up and down and roll all over the floor." Jin said bursting in laughter.

"Phew, that's why she chose to stay here," Asin stated as this was Lime's plan after all.

"Don't be mad, I was intrigued. By the way, who is that girl with you this morning?" Arme asked as she cut the conversation and immediately changed the subject by asking Luxus who least expected it. She did that for she knows the feeling of embarrassment which Lime is experiencing right now.

"Who? me?" Luxus asked a bit skeptical at the sudden change of topic.

"I've also seen her with you going home," Ronan added further backing up Arme and adding a deeper nail on Luxus' coffin.

"Yeah, is she a friend of yours?" Rin asked as she turned to him with curious eyes.

"_Is she an assassin sent by the Arallu to kill me?_" Luxus thought to himself as Rin's innocence managed to dig right through his heart. Luxus tried his best not to let his poker face drop as he makes a reply.

"Maybe," He answered softly which wasn't his intention. Embarrassed that Rin managed to penetrate his defenses, he walked away and went to his bed and took a seat.

"How did your friendship start?" Amy asked as everyone else got curious as well. They already know that the young Luxus has no social skills whatsoever so obtaining a friend made them very interested.

"Do you think he will tell us?" Elesis poked in with a sour tone.

"She's not a friend, I just helped her out when she got wounded." Luxus talked back after a few seconds, aura changing as he seemed to be a different person. This surprised Elesis as she honestly didn't expect for him to reply but this made her happy because she managed to make a friend open himself.

"But, do you know where she is now?" Dio intervened and asked which surprised everyone except Luxus. It was clear that the Chieften despised the Bounty Hunter but with that question, Luxus' unpleasant aura disappeared.

"Like you would want to know," The bounty hunter replied sarcastically.

"Do you really want to experience the true meaning of fear?" The Chieften retorted back

"I'll have enough of this, I'm going to sleep," Luxus replied and looked at the floor avoiding the Stygian's gaze.

"Well, if there's no more reports, I'm going to sleep." Elesis declared as everyone noticed that she wasn't angry anymore.

"Nothing more... and nothing less," Ley replied slowly and with a low tone.

Everyone then got onto their beds and waited for time to pass by like nothing happened. Some slept while others were thinking, etc. Still, some wonder what will happen next, would they be able to get out as soon as they can?

* * *

_"It was nothing but a single wound..."_

_"Hey," The boy came in and called out to wake up the petite girl on the corner who seemed to be sleeping. The girl didn't respond and everything was silent._

_"Better let her be," The boy said as he left and went back into his own classroom to get his things. He then went back to check on the girl inside the other room before leaving. He used to be the last to leave the school grounds._

_Walking through the threshold, seeing no signs of any people around he arrives at the room where the girl is. And just like he expected, the little girl is still there. He decided to go near the sleeping figure. And then, with a sudden shock, something creeps down into his spine when he got a good look at the girl._

_He quickly tried to wake the girl up as said girl fluttered her eyelids open and looked faintly at the boy. The boy wasted no time and grabber her carefully, carrying the girl on his back and began to walk outside the room._

_Having the girl conscious on his back, she managed to speak._

_"Wh-where are we-" She tried to force herself to speak._

_"Don't speak," But the boy ordered her to stop in a rude manner as he walked outside the Iron Gates with a frantic look on his face._

_"Onegai(Please)... don't let anybody know," The girl begged as she tears slowly formed on her eyes and fall on her face._

_"I already told you not to speak, right?" The boy said coldly if not a bit raised. But still he walked down the pavement road as fast as his feet can carry the both of them. After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at an Isolated cottage inside a forest._

_"It is a lot better here than the clinic in town..." The boy muttered as he knocked on the wooden door and found the girl on his back fall back into a cold sleep._

_"May I help you?" An elderly grown up asked and opened the door and looked down at the two children._

_"Come in..." The elderly grown up didn't even hesitate to let them in after seeing the bloodstains on their uniforms._

_"What happened to her, my dear?" The elderly grown up asked worriedly._

_"I don't know, I don't even know her name. We just go to the same school and orphanage." The boy replied trying to be calm as possible._

_"Oh, I see. Her lacerated legs didn't stop bleeding but it's not the problem right now," The elderly grown up said as it was obvious that the boy was pushing himself._

_"Is she alright?" The boy asked worried as the elderly grown up walked inside the room and led the boy to the girl._

_"She lost too much blood and I don't have any stocks of blood in her type," The Elderly grown up pointed out._

_"Why?"_

_"She's not a human, my child. Look at her," The elderly grown up then pointed a finger at the little girl as the boy's eyes followed. Her hair is no longer braided now which revealed two spikes on her cheeks and her short pointed ears._

_By the time the sun has settled and hid behind the clouds the two children left the Elder's cottage._

_"Here, take this. It will help her recover faster. Just don't let her have any more wounds again." The elder warned and waved goodbye to the boy as they walked off back home together with the girl._

_The boy decided to go back to school first and remove the evidence. Without any words, the elder gave them clothes to change into as the boy already told the elder what the girl said earlier and now everything is set. The only problem now is an alibi for being late._

_"Thanks for saving me..." The girl whispered as they went inside cautiously and hugged the boy tightly._

_"Don't hold me tightly, you're choking me! Do you want me to put you down already?! I won't hesistate, I don't care if you can't even walk yet." The boy threatened as the girl didn't mind and rested her head onto the boy's shoulders and fell asleep._

_The scene fades and switched into unbearable sounds... pieces of memories..._

_"I need to go with them..."_

_Weeping sounds continued to echo endlessly..._

_Beaming faces around... grinning madly..._

_Hatred saturated, blindingly and conquered everything..._

**To be continued.**


End file.
